103 House Democrats vote to halt $3.3 billion in aid to Israel

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said Wednesday that he would consider leaving the Democratic Party if it became “the anti-Israel party,” warning that the party’s shift on Israel could cross a red line for his membership.

“My long-term concern has been with the Democratic party, as I am a member of that, is that our party is going to back away and turn their back to Israel,” Fetterman said at an event organized by The Hill and NewsNation.

“I’ve described that if our party ever becomes … the anti-Israel party, you know, that’s when I would leave,” he said. “That’s been a moral clarity for me.”

Fetterman has emerged as one of Israel’s most prominent advocates among Senate Democrats, even as others in the party have backed away from traditional support for the country amid accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government committed genocide in Gaza.

The senator acknowledged that Republicans have tried to convince him to switch parties but said he otherwise had no interest in doing so because he disagreed with the majority of GOP policies.

“I’ve been very clear. I am never changing my party, except for that one condition that we just discussed,” Fetterman said. “If I was going to, I would have already done that.”

Fetterman spoke the same day 103 House Democrats voted for an unsuccessful bid to halt $3.3 billion in aid for Israel, the majority of which would be for its military. The Wednesday afternoon vote amounted to a significant rebuke of U.S. policy toward the country, with some longstanding supporters of defense assistance for Israel saying they could no longer justify sending it weapons.

“The American people are rightly demanding an end to a perpetual cycle of war, and the Netanyahu government cannot maintain its current course,” said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who voted yes on the measure. She added that she supported it “for the message that it sends.”

In April, a majority of Democratic senators voted for two attempts by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to block the sale of bombs and bulldozers to Israel. Fetterman rejected both measures.